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Mountain West Connection

https://www.mwcconnection.com/ | 497 entries published

All you need to know about the Mountain West, and then some

Latest Entries

Spartans balance grit and growing pains across three-game stretch

San Jose State’s (6-12, 1-6 MW) last three outings offered a clear snapshot of where Tim Miles’ program currently sits: competitive, resilient and still fighting a steep hill against depth issues and execution gaps against more-than-capable Mountain West competition. From a road loss at Grand Canyon last week to a short-handed but determined win over […]

about 15 hours ago | 0 reads

2025-26 Mountain West Basketball Power Rankings: Jan. 19

After another action-packed week of Mountain West men’s basketball hoops, what do our power rankings look like this week?! Let’s not waste any more time and dive right into it! 1. San Diego State We have a new No. 1! San Diego State is now the only unbeaten team in MW play, crushing Wyoming followed […]

about 16 hours ago | 0 reads

Mountain West Recruiting Roundup 1-19-26. The transfer portal closes and offers to high school players increase.

It’s another week of the Mountain West Recruiting Roundup. In last week’s edition, we spoke about Nevada being able to retain many of their core players during the portal madness. Chris Murray of Nevada Sports Net addressed the same thing in his weekly mailbag this past week: Nevada football doesn’t have one specific new benefactor […]

about 18 hours ago | 0 reads

Mountain West Connection Players of the Week 1/19/26

The third full week of conference play and the top of the standings are getting more competitive with Grand Canyon’s upset victory of Utah State. It was an exciting week of Mountain West basketball with a number of games coming down to the final seconds. With that being said, let’s take a look at the […]

about 19 hours ago | 0 reads

Fresno State completed perfect week, back to .500

The Fresno State Bulldogs completed a perfect week on the hardwood, winning both contests on the schedule this week, both at home. On Tuesday Jake Heidbreder scored 23 points, while DeShawn Gory scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 79-69 win over Colorado State. In the opening six minutes both teams went back […]

1 day ago | 0 reads

Lobos fall to Aztecs at Viejas in San Diego

photo courtesy of UNM Athletics Lobos Close Out but Fall to Conference Leader SDSU, 83–79 New Mexico fought back and managed to reduce the deficit to a single point in the final minute of the game, but ultimately lost to conference leader San Diego State, 83–79 at Viejas Arena in San Diego. With this loss, […]

1 day ago | 0 reads

Strong Finish Gives Nevada 81-66 Win Over Air Force

There are never any true “gimme” games in college basketball, but Nevada’s matchup against Air Force was as close as you could get. The Falcons entered this one on an 11-game losing streak and were winless in conference play. On paper, it’s an easy pick me up game for Nevada after some tough losses to […]

2 days ago | 2 reads

2025-26 Mountain West Bracketology: January 16

We have approached the halfway point of the 2025-26 Mountain West men’s basketball season. So far, there appears to be just one at-large candidate ahead of the big dance! But here is our full Bracketology report two months out from the NCAA Tournament! At Large Candidates: Utah State: NET: 15 KenPom: 22 Lunardi: No. 7 seed […]

4 days ago | 2 reads

Mountaintop View 1-16-2026: Hill gets a promotion, Red Panda, Mason Falslev, Lady Rebels are dominating, Colorado State and the transfer portal

Zak Hill is promoted to co-offensive coordinator after Matt Miller leaves to Washington State The former Boise State and Arizona State offensive coordinator will have a bigger role in calling plays. This is a huge positive for the Broncos as Hill should be able to mentor Nate Potter. A popular halftime performer is making the […]

4 days ago | 1 read

2025-26 Mountain West basketball midseason awards

Happy Thursday, everyone! We are roughly halfway through the 2025-26 college basketball season! With that said, let’s hand out some midseason awards for the 2025-26 Mountain West men’s basketball season! Player of the Year: MJ Collins, Utah State Heading into the season, many thought third-year Utah State guard Mason Falslev would lead the charge for […]

5 days ago | 1 read

Stats Corner: Probability of Winning Conference Rankings

With half the basketball season complete and a quarter of the conference schedule in the books, it’s time to take a serious look at the championship race. As long-time readers know, I’ve consistently criticized preseason polls for their inherent bias and reliance on unsubstantiated data. This week on Stats Corner, we’re doing something different: ranking […]

5 days ago | 0 reads

AZTECS RUN OVER COWBOYS WITH A 74-57 THUMPING

Aztecs bid adios to Laramie, and it’s 7,220 foot elevation in a convincing win over Wyoming.  San Diego State put together a complete game beatdown against Wyoming in their final trip to Laramie. Most teams struggle in the rarified thin air of Laramie, but the Aztecs showed no signs they were oxygen deprived as they […]

5 days ago | 1 read

Mountaintop View 1-15-26

NCAA changes college basketball transfer process with later portal dates, shorter window It’s the topic that never goes away: the transfer portal. Once again, the rules seem to be changing on that front, in this case for college basketball. These windows thankfully seem to be shrinking but expect chaos during that period. The hoops scores […]

5 days ago | 1 read

The Pit Remains a Fortress as Lobos Pull Away from GCU 87-64

courtesy of UNM Athletics The Pit Remains a Fortress as Lobos Pull Away from GCU 87-64 Mountain West Connection – Roger A. Holien Albuquerque, N.M. — For the second time this week, New Mexico showed why The Pit is one of the toughest places to play in college hoops, breaking open in the second half […]

6 days ago | 2 reads

Peak Perspective: Mountain West Football Final 2025 Grades

With the 2025 Mountain West football season in the books, that means that the college football season is officially over. Like every year, it all went by too quickly. Now, bowl games are over, and every team has finished their season until next August. With things finalized, let’s review the year with final season grades. […]

6 days ago | 1 read

Mountain West Basketball heating up! Who’s hot, who’s not? 6 teams that are rising fast or sliding down, complete w/ scouting reports & analysis! HP Ep. #137 OUT NOW!

Welcome back everyone to the Hike’s Peak podcast, thank you for coming back to the mountain! We’re finally switching over to basketball, as Mountain West play is kicking into high gear. It’s been a few weeks since we last discussed the contenders that were emerging, so let’s now go over who’s hot and who’s not? […]

7 days ago | 1 read

Mountain West Reacts Survey: NCAA Tournament Bids, 2nd Best Team.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NCAA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Mountain West fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys. Please take our survey

7 days ago | 2 reads

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: Way Too Early Mountain West Rankings

The 2025 season is over and we are entering a new era of college football on the west coast with the PAC 12 rebuilding itself with five teams from the Mountain West. Meanwhile, the Mountain West reloaded with the additions of UTEP and Northern Illinois. Over the next few weeks, we are going to take […]

7 days ago | 1 read

Mountaintop View 1-13-26

UH Athletics could be getting $4.1 million in NIL funding The never-ending race for financial support in college athletics continues. Hawaii is looking to the state government for help. In a pleasant surprise, Hawaii football retained the services of Micah Alejado this portal cycle. Hawaii wants to keep that NIL momentum going. The Aggies are […]

7 days ago | 0 reads